This is the resource page of Aidthestudent.com. Many of you wonder the best tools to use to grow your blog, website and online business. If you want to see our collection of all the handy tools and resources we’ve created for students Head over to our Useful tools and resources for students page.
Here I share the tools I use to build AidTheStudent and continue to use to grow it. I also suggest alternatives.
My goal is to help you find success by using the best and not wasting your time with mediocre tools. Time and money is precious. Please note that I have used most of the tools listed here.
Here’s our roundup of tried and true tools and resources we use to run our business and recommend for our clients to run theirs. We have experience with all of these products, so if you need help choosing what’s right for you, or getting it set up for your business, give us a holler.
Design
Canva / design DIY graphics
Adobe Creative Cloud / advanced design tools
Typeform / stylish forms
Photodune / inexpensive stock photos
Social Media
Buffer / social media scheduling queue
Edgar / social media scheduling library
Hootsuite / social media scheduling
Websites
AccessAlly / best membership platform
UpdraftPlus / best backup plugin / watch our tutorial
Bit.ly / URL shortener
Bluehost / shared web hosting
GoDaddy and NameCheap / domain registration
Google Analytics / website traffic stats
Hostgator / best shared web hosting
Godaddy / cheapest web hosting
Placehold.it / image placeholders
PopupAlly / polite popup plugin
ProgressAlly / website gamification plugin
Soliloquy / image slider plugin
WebinarAlly / easy webinar plugin / read our review
WP Engine / premium WordPress hosting
YoastSEO / best search engine plugin
Marketing
30 Day List Building Challenge / excellent free challenge
ActiveCampaign / mid-level email marketing
Heartquarters Insider / amazing support & education
Infusionsoft / high-level email marketing & ecommerce
Lynda / educational video subscription
Mailchimp / entry-level email marketing
Ontraport / high-level email marketing & ecommerce
Video and Audio
Camtasia / screen capture and video editing
Canon 80D SLR / prosumer camera (video too)
Microsoft Webcam / great quality and price
Blue Yeti Microphone / podcasting microphone
Colormunki / monitor color calibration
Business Management & Productivity
| AppSumo / discount apps and toolsBox / cloud file storageDropbox / cloud file sharingEmily Ley Paper / planners and gorgeous office suppliesEvernote / list, notes, and document organizationFeedly / blog readerFiverr / great for voiceovers | Freshbooks / simple invoicing and accountingJoin.me / quick screen sharingLastPass / password managerLaura Casey Powersheets / goal-setting and planning worksheetsMailbox Forwarding / snail mail managementQuickbooks Online / advanced accounting and invoicingVonage / phone line over your internet connection |
Books
Audible / audio book membership
Strengths Finder / identify top 5 strengths
Just for Fun
Blurb / book publishing
Ebates / earn $ shopping online
Minted / beautiful stationery & art
MomAgenda / planners for moms
Orbitz / travel deals
Pinhole Press / cute photo books for kids
Stitch Fix / personal stylist sends you fashion
TinyPrints / neat invitations & photo greetings
Please note: AidTheStudent may receive compensation if you purchase some of the items or services on this page. We only list products and services we trust and use. The compensation doesn’t influence our recommendations, but makes it possible for us to provide free and valuable content. Our goal is to share resources we love and use, hoping to make life easier for you too!
Web hosting
Aidthestudent has been hosted with Cloudways. The reason is simple, it is the fastest WordPress hosting I have ever used and it works. They use optimized servers, server-level caching, Varnish cache, Memcached and more to deliver mind-blowing speed. You can read my review of Cloudways . The good thing is that you can try them for FREE. Read my Guide on how to setup a blog/website on Cloudways
Hosting on a budget ($1 per month)
Domain & hosting are the two basic things you need for launching a website. The domain is the name of your website (like facebook.com) and hosting is the space where your website files gets stored. If youre just starting up your website this is a hosting plan you can optin for if you’re looking into cheap hosting. You can try godaddy’s hosting for 30 days using the below link
If you are looking for the best WooCommerce hosting, then you should give Templ a try. They use Google cloud and Google Cloud CDN to unlock amazing speed. They have wonderful tools and offer free speed optimization service for every website migrating to their platform. You can read my Templ review.
If you are a beginner, there is no need to spend money on expensive hosting yet. Until you have enough traffic. You can start small. Bluehost is recommended by WordPress, they have cheap plans for beginners with lots of amazing tools. You can start from there and grow. Read my tutorial on bluehost
The web hosting that you use can make or break your site. A bad web host will ruin everything. A good web host will make it easy to grow. Don’t gamble.
WordPress theme
GeneratePress is the theme powering AidTheStudent. The reason is that it is the fastest WordPress theme I have seen. This theme is so lightweight, the whole code is less than 30KB but it is packed with so many features. It is schema integrated for structure data, to help outsmart competitors.
If for any reason, you cannot get GeneratePress then Astra should be your next option. Astra is fast loading, with many amazing. When I ran a Web.dev test, it scored 100 for every section. It is lightweight and SEO optimized.
Read how to setup a website with Astra theme
A theme is very important. A bad theme can ruin everything. It can ruin SEO, speed and conversion. Don’t gamble.
UPDATE
AidTheStudent Now uses Newspaper Theme. If you’re running a multiple author website or a news or magazine blog, Then newspaper theme is the best choice for you. Try it here.
Email marketing
Email marketing is a VERY important factor in making money online. It does not matter if you are a blogger or running an online business, emails can turn things around. It can help you share your products with your customers or help you drive traffic. With an email list, you have a gold in hand. Convert pro is the best email marketing platform. They have amazing features and offer a free trial.
Email marketing is extremely important if you want to become successful in blogging or online business. I use Converful for emails. Because the platform is so easy to use and the email automation is awesome. I just set and forget and the newsletter goes out beautifully. It is free if you have less than 1000 subscribers. The paid plans are cheap compared to others.
Start collecting emails. It is critical to growth online.
Other tools
Google Keyword Planner
This is the main tool I use for Keyword research. It is free and it is the best. Most other keyword tools pull their data from here.
Yoast
Yoast is the main SEO plugin I use for AidTheStudent. I use the free version. It does what it is meant to do. No complains.
Asset CleanUp
Asset CleanUp is an amazing plugin. I use it to remove unused CSS and JS. It helps me unload bloats. The good thing is that it is free. It has a premium version, but I use the free version here.
Site Kit
I use it Site Kit to connect my blog to all Google products that I am using. While the stats are not detailed, they are useful.
